1909 to 2009 Evinrude at 100!The Yankee Chapter of the Antique Outboard
Motor Club celebrated the 100th anniversary of Evinrude outboards in 2009.
Evinrude was the featured marque at the Yankee
Chapter Formal Meet in September.

Restored
1913 Evinrude Row Boat Motor

A
Century of Outboarding with Evinrude

The
year 2009 marks 100 years since the first Evinrude outboards went on
sale. Today it is almost unimaginable how slow transportation was a
little over a century ago. For many, the fastest they ever traveled
was the speed at which they could power themselves by foot. Because
of this most people never ventured farther than a few miles from their
homes. But by the dawn of the 20th Century the availability and speed
of transportation was moving forward at a rapid pace. Trains had broken
the 100mph barrier, automobiles were more than a toy for the rich and
the Wright brothers (and others) were making big gains in powered flight.
The outlook for machines to make life better, expand horizons and free
people from toil was being embraced by everyone.

On
the water, to get from place to place the choice for locomotion had
been the same for centuries; the ancient art of sailing or the even
older practice of rowing, (or paddling). Sailing required wind; not
always available - or blowing in the right direction. Rowing or paddling
was, as now, tedious in the extreme; slow and arduous work. The mid
19th century brought the introduction of steam power, but this required
a major investment in the boiler and engine and installation in a purpose
built boat. It was also hot, messy and very fussy – not to mention
dangerous. With all the mechanical advancements taking shape in the
early 20th century the stage was set for the development of a light,
simple to use, detachable (portable) boat motor. A motor that could
easily be adapted to fit the millions of sailing and rowboats people
already owned.

Credit
for the first portable outboard motor is often mistakenly bestowed on
Ole Evinrude – an inaccuracy OMC/Evinrude encouraged for years
with their "First In Outboards" slogan. The tale goes that
Ole was courting his future wife Bess Carey but could not row to their
favorite picnic spot before their ice cream melted. In response to this
predicament Ole developed a small detachable motor for their rowboat
that enabled them to enjoy the ice cream before it turned to soup. When
people found out about Evinrude's great invention the orders started
pouring in. The rest is history!

While
it is a cute story, in truth, there were several "outboards"
designed before Evinrude’s. A look in Jim Webb’s
excellent book A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF OUTBOARDS shows several
human, electric and internal combustion powered boat propelling
devices in the late 19th and first few years of the 20th century.
(Though none of the companies producing them were very long-lived)
Most people credit Yale Law student Cameron Waterman, working
with the Caille Brothers Company, in marketing the first mass-produced
motors a year or two before Ole.

Regardless
of who actually produced the first motor, the Evinrude
name went on to become almost synonymous with outboard motors.
The dogged determination and engineering of Ole Evinrude, the
marketing savvy of his wife Bess and the work of many others
contributed to the success of the company.

Ole's
design for those first Evinrude Rowboat Motors back in 1909
proved to be remarkably resilient, staying in the company catalog
well into the late 1920s!

Early
Evinrude Advertisement

If
you are interested in more detailed information on Ole Evinrude
and the company he founded, there are several great books that
have been written. Below is a list of ones we can recommend
and available through on-line retailers like Amazon.com
or Barnes
& Nobel.com or even at your local library.
Jim Webb's book has been out of print many years but can sometimes
be found at bookselling websites such as ABE
Books and others.

Evinrude
Johnson and the Legend of OMC by Jeffrey L. Rodengen

The
Old Outboard Book 3rd Ed. by Peter Hunn

Ole
Evinrude & His Outboard Motor (A great book for kids)

Pictorial
History of Outboard Motors by Jim Webb

By
the time Ole Evinrude died in 1934 his company would own many of the
top brands in outboard motors: Evinrude, Elto, Lockwood-Ash and Koban.
Shortly after Ole's death, under the management of his son Ralph and
entrepreneur Stephen Briggs, the company would go on to buy Johnson.
Then the world's largest manufacturer of outboards; Johnson had fallen
into financial trouble at the hands of inept Wall Street bankers. Evinrude
diversified during the depression to produce several side-lines; bicycles,
camp-stoves, refrigeration units and even shop tools. While most of
these were short-lived, they had lasting success with the Lawn Boy mowers
and private label outboard business that evolved into their fine Gale
Outboards division.

Evinrude
in the 1940's continued to grow and expand. During the war they
built outboards for the armed forces that saw service in virtually
every theater of operations. When hostilities ended Evinrude
was ready for the post war boom offering the broadest range
in horsepower of any manufacturer: 2 to 50hp.

Starting
in 1952 with the 25hp Big Twin and 1953 with the 3hp Lightwin,
Evinrude and Johnson (their parent company now known as Outboard
Marine Corporation) started to share their product lines. By
the mid 1960s Evinrude & Johnson motors were 99% the same
with little more than small trim, graphics and color differences.

To
celebrate Evinrude’s unique heritage, this year members
of the Yankee Chapter of the AOMCI will celebrate the first
50 years of Evinrude outboards; 1909 to 1959. All over New England
our members will be running antique and classic Evinrudes and
having fun - we hope you will too!

Yankee
Chapter Members Make Evinrude First In Outboards all this year!

Evinrude
Row Boat Motor

1958
Fisherman 5.5

1959
Big Twin 35hp

1909
to 1959 Evinrude Model Numbers Evinrude will be the featured marque at
the Yankee Chapter Formal Meet in September. Most Evinrude
and Elto motors had an ID plate on the transom clamp or a freeze plug
on the engine block with the model number. To help you ID your Evinrude,
here is a list of model numbers for Evinrude, Elto and even a few Lockwood
models made in the USA from 1909 to 1959. (The list is quite long, it
is sorted by model number with alphabetical listings at the end.)

Have
an old outboard you would like to see featured? Simply write up a small
description and send us two clear graphics (the one for the home page
must be formatted portrait) and it can be included here!Please send comments and ideas to the "Contact Us"
link on the bottom of the page.